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Amid freezing rain, flurries, and a swirling breeze off the banks of the Humber, combined with a resolute home side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this presented all the makings of a difficult night's work for the visitors.

"We could have scored more but the opposition are a strong team and it was a tough tie; I am very pleased with the performance," he said. "Hull City means a lot to me so it was nice to get a positive reception from both sets of fans. The attitude of the lads was excellent."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this city dear to him, given some of his family hail from Hull and his successful spell in charge of the Championship club. This happy connection was extended with a commanding performance from his squad, who ultimately strolled into the next round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Edge Seals Comprehensive Win

Three days after letting slip a two-goal lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of fragility about them going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The capacity home support evidently sensed it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the task with ease.

Rosenior rang the changes, making seven of them to his starting lineup. The tie might and perhaps ought to have been decided earlier than it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap guilty of missing excellent opportunities to put Chelsea in front in the first half.

However, fortunately for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more clinical frame of mind. He opened the deadlock with a marvellous distance effort, which proved to be the catalyst for his team to take control of the match. By full time, they had 4 goals, with the forward scoring three of them for a superb hat-trick.

Delap's Redemption and Impact

Hull displayed great spirit all game, but the better chances always fell Chelsea’s way. The winger ought to have opened the scoring when he rounded goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. The striker then had a comparable horror incident in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's kick which bounced back from the bar, and Delap began to run away believing the ball had crossed the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had responded to avert the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely instrumental from that point onward, registering 3 assists. The first was for the first goal as his pass set up his teammate to finish from range. Six minutes after the second half began, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went directly in under the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Attention Turns

Seven minutes after the second goal, the tie was effectively ended as a dazzling run from Delap teed up his teammate to slide into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider again delivered the decisive pass for the attacker to calmly convert by a helpless goalkeeper.

By that stage, the effort Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had long since forgotten. Their focus must now switch back to securing a return to the top division under their manager, who rested a number of first-choice players with that goal in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a very good situation in the Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a good example of how we should play."

Hull showed plenty of effort to the final whistle, and they nearly got a consolation when a substitute hit a post in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s night, and another positive stride for their new manager at a stadium he knows very well.

FA Cup Omens Look Promising

The result resulted in an ultimately straightforward evening’s work, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are good from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous occasions in this competition in the past ten years and every single time, they have gone on to make the showpiece. There is still work in that respect, but this was another significant positive for the Chelsea boss.